The invention relates to an electrical connector particularly for use with a power connection, and preferably for electrical interconnections between insulated power conductors and a printed circuit board.
It is common in the electrical power industry to have so-called screwless wire connectors such that a wire can be inserted into an electrical connector where a binding screw is not required. A binding screw is the type of interconnection on electrical receptacles and the like, where a wire is wrapped around a screw and the binding screw is tightened until the wire is pressed against its corresponding connection plate. Another type of interconnection is a wire-trap style connection where a wire is trapped on the connector. This type of electrical connection requires that the end of the insulation of an insulated wire is stripped, usually to a predetermined length, but the conductor is not bent to be placed under a binding screw. Rather, the wire is placed into a wire receiving opening in a connector housing, and an electrical terminal has a resiliently bent tongue, which, upon pressing the wire into position, traps the wire in place in electrical connection with the resilient tongue. Pulling on the wire or strain on the wire causes only a further tightening of the connection and thus it is common to have a slot adjacent to the resiliently bent tongue to insert a tool to release the wire.
It is also known to incorporate such an electrical connector on a printed circuit board for a power connection. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,740, which illustrates an electrical connector having a housing which can be right-angle mounted on a printed circuit board, where the connector includes wire receiving openings to receive stripped conductors and a wire-trap style electrical terminal to receive the stripped conductor in binding relation upon insertion.
While the connector as depicted in the above-mentioned patent is usable for the particular application as shown, other similar connectors used in different applications have resulted in arcing between the electrical terminals, particularly between the terminals connecting to the printed circuit board, due to the spacing between the electrical terminals. As mentioned above, such terminals are used for power connections, for example, with a ballast-type fluorescent fixture connection, and if terminals are spaced too close to each other, the air gap between them allows for arcing between the terminals, which in turn can result in premature failure of the ballast.
The object of the invention, then, is to provide an electrical connector for use with power conductors, and which is for particular use with printed circuit board connections, which improves upon and eliminates the shortcomings of prior art style connectors.
The objects of the invention have been accomplished by providing a power connector for the electrical connection of a plurality of wires to a printed circuit board, where the connector comprises an insulating housing and a plurality of electrical contacts. The housing includes a wire receiving face and a board mounting face opposed to the wire receiving face, the wire receiving face having a plurality of wire openings for receiving stripped electrical wires, the openings positioned in a staggered array with the openings alternately disposed on opposite sides of a longitudinal centerline. The electrical contacts have a wire contact portion, and a circuit board contact portion extending from the board mounting face, thereby forming a staggered array of circuit board contact portions alternately disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal centerline, such that each circuit board contact portion is positioned on a side of the longitudinal centerline opposed to the opening corresponding to the circuit board contact portion.
In the preferred version of the power connector, the housing is comprised of a plurality of side-by-side contact receiving cavities, where the cavities open from the board mounting face. Also preferably, the wire openings extend through the wire receiving face and the contact receiving cavities extend between the longitudinal side walls.
The plurality of electrical contacts comprise first and second contacts, where the wire contact portion of the first contact comprises a first base portion and two upstanding arms, where the first base portion is angled upwardly and projects toward the second longitudinal wall. The wire contact portion of the second contact comprises a second base portion and two upstanding arms, the second base portion being angled upwardly and projecting towards the first longitudinal wall. Preferably, the wire contact portion of the first and second contacts are comprised of blade contact portions extending upwardly from one of the two upstanding arms, the blade contact portions being reversely bent below the other of the two upstanding arms. Also preferably, the wire openings in the housing are aligned with an intersection of the blade contact portions, and the other of the two upstanding arms.
In another embodiment of the invention, a power connector for the electrical connection of a plurality of wires to a printed circuit board is provided where an insulating housing has a wire receiving face including a plurality of wire openings for receiving stripped electrical wires, and the housing has a plurality of side-by-side cavities. A plurality of electrical contacts are positioned in the cavities, the contacts having wire contact portions positioned adjacent to the wire openings for connection to the wire and circuit board contact portions extending downwardly from the housing. The circuit board contact portions are disposed in a staggered array on opposite sides of a longitudinal centerline, where the electrical contacts are profiled such that the wire contact portions within the cavities, which are proximate a circuit board contact portion in an adjacent cavity, are elevated within the cavity to increase the spacing between the adjacent circuit board contact portions.
In this embodiment of the connector, it is preferable that the insulating housing has first and second longitudinal side walls and end walls, with at least two contacts positioned in the side-by-side cavities. The wire contact portion of a first contact comprises a first base portion and two upstanding arms, the first base portion being angled upwardly and projecting towards the second longitudinal wall, and the wire contact portion of a second contact comprises a second base portion and two upstanding arms, the second base portion being angled upwardly and projecting towards the first longitudinal wall. The wire contact portion of the first and second contacts are comprised of blade contact portions extending upwardly from one of the two upstanding arms, the blade contact portions being reversely bent below the other of the two upstanding arms. The wire openings in the housing are aligned with an intersection of the blade contact portion, and the other of the two upstanding arms.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, a power connector for the electrical connection of a plurality of wires to a printed circuit board comprises an insulating housing having a wire receiving face including a plurality of wire receiving openings, first and second longitudinal side walls and end walls, and a plurality of side-by-side cavities. A plurality of electrical contacts are positioned in the cavities, where a first contact has a wire contact portion positioned in a cavity and a circuit board contact portion extending downwardly from the housing adjacent the first longitudinal wall, and a second contact has a wire contact portion disposed in the adjacent cavity, with a circuit board contact portion extending downwardly from the housing and adjacent the second longitudinal wall. The wire contact portion of the first contact comprises a first base portion and two upstanding arms, the first base portion being angled upwardly and projecting towards the second longitudinal wall, and the wire contact portion of the second contact comprising a second base portion and two upstanding arms, the second base portion being angled upwardly and projecting towards the first longitudinal wall.
In this embodiment, it is preferable that the housing be comprised of a plurality of side-by-side contact receiving cavities, where the cavities open from a bottom of the housing. The housing is comprised of a top wall, longitudinal side walls, and end walls and the wire openings extend through the top wall. The contact receiving cavities extend between the longitudinal side walls. The wire contact portion of the first and second contacts are comprised of blade contact portions extending upwardly from one of the two upstanding arms, the blade contact portions being reversely bent below the other of the two upstanding arms. The wire openings in the housing are aligned with an intersection of the blade contact portion, and the other of the two upstanding arms.